


For The Birds

by Barb Cummings (Rahirah)



Series: The Barbverse [15]
Category: Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon, Domestic, Established Relationship, F/M, Fluff, Humor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-11-22
Updated: 2009-11-22
Packaged: 2017-10-03 13:56:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 572
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18879
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rahirah/pseuds/Barb%20Cummings
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Still life, with pigeons.</p>
            </blockquote>





	For The Birds

**Author's Note:**

> This story is set in the same universe as _A Raising in the Sun_, _Necessary Evils_, et. al. (See the [Barbverse Timeline](http://sleepingjaguars.com/buffy/viewpage.php?page=timeline) for specifics.) It contains spoilers for previous works in the series.

Buffy Summers adjusted the tilt of her Scarlett O'Hara vanilla-creme summer hat, leaned back in her lawn chair, and crossed her legs delicately at the ankle, the better to show off both the aforementioned ankles and her Stuart Weitzman Vagabondos (in kicky paisley which exactly matched the watermelon-pink of her hatband--obviously a Sign, and in Sunnydale one did not ignore Signs, especially when they read "30% Off.") A flurry of pigeons flew by overhead, cooing and fluttering from rooftop to the crown of the queen palm in Mrs. Fitzgibbon's yard next door, and somewhere down the street an ice cream truck was jingling the theme to "Popeye the Sailor Man." There was sun, there were new shoes, there was cold ice tea with mint. A perfect afternoon.

Nothing much ever happened in Sunnydale in the summertime, even back in the days when it had been a working Hellmouth. The college campus was deserted except for a few summer classes, the sky above Main Street glowed with lingering sunlight until nearly nine PM, and most vampires hunkered down in their lairs to wait out the long hot summer days.

Most vampires. Spike was out in the driveway, attacking the hood of the DeSoto with a chamois and a tin of Turtle Wax till the huge old car gleamed in self-defense. It was a pity vampires didn't feel heat or cold the way humans did, because a human would probably have stripped off his t-shirt by now. Spike had, in her expert opnion, the world's most lickable stomach, firm and sleek, nicely muscle-y with just a teeny hint of kneadable softness below his navel. (Liaisons with Slayers, Spike claimed, were illegal, immoral, and fattening.) Voyeurism foiled by ectothermy: _so_ not fair.

"Buffy! Hellooo, Buffy!"

Suppressing a groan, Buffy closed her eyes behind her pink-tinted Vogues Unfortunately Mrs. Fitzgibbons was still there when she opened her eyes, waving across the oleander, hedge clippers rampant. Buffy returned the wave feebly, trying to convey an impression of sun-induced weakness. Mrs. Fitzgibbons had a serious Kravitz complex. If she didn't still feel a little guilty about the Pekingese incident...

"Beautiful afternoon, isn't it?" Mrs. Fitzgibbons chirped. "We don't see your young man out this early often!"

"Mm, well, yeah, Spike's got that sun allergy," Buffy murmured, applying another layer of SPF-30 coconut-oatmeal sunblock to her nose. At least there was plenty of pale, muscular arm on display. The alternating flex of biceps and triceps was almost hypnotic. "Not his favorite time of year."

"I noticed that you'd put in a sun roof over the driveway. So clever! And it keeps the pigeons off, too." Mrs. Fitzgibbons thrust her clippers at a roly-poly specimen, which cocked its iridescent head and aimed a ruby eye in her direction before taking leisurely flight. "Such messy, dirty birds! I don't see why the city doesn't--"

The pigeon soared over the hedge and fanned its tail for a landing on the roof of the DeSoto. Without breaking the rhythm of hood-polishing, Spike went yellow-eyed, shot out a hand, snatched the bird in mid-air, and sank his fangs into its grey-feathered breast. One quick pull and the bedraggled carcass was arcing through the air towards the dumpster by the curb. Spike licked his once-more human lips and grinned at Mrs. Fitzgibbons. A couple of tail-feathers fluttered slowly to earth.

"I don't know," Buffy said demurely. "We never have much trouble with them."

**END**


End file.
